Free Republic

Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) announced Tuesday that the state's indoor mask mandate will be lifted later this month, making it the final U.S. state to ease such restrictions. Ige said at a news briefing that indoor masking will no longer be required beginning March 26. "Because of people who have been serious about this and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus, we have reduced COVID-19 in Hawaii to the point where most of us will be safe without masks," he said. He said COVID hospitalizations and case counts are declining and that "we are better at...

Biologist Gerry Kuzyk was hiking with his wife in the remote reaches of the Yukon when he caught the putrid scent of caribou dung wafting through the chill air.Then he saw it -- the biggest pile of animal droppings he had ever seen, 8 feet high and stretching over a half-mile of mountainside.Kuzyk, a researcher with the Yukon Department of Renewable Resources, knew there weren't enough caribou in the entire territory to create such an epic mound. Odder yet, there hadn't been caribou in the area for nearly a century."It was like being in the `Twilight Zone,' " said Rick...

<p>WASHINGTON It's time to say it again. The patriotic fervor in the days following Sept. 11 has been reduced to a murmur. Its promise for a new day in media coverage, politics, and civic responsibility has brought almost nothing. But it isn't too late. There is hard work to do if we choose not to squander the feelings of community activism. But there are no quick fixes. Actions must go deeper, and be more lasting. At the core of the issue is conduct in politics - what is said and done in political life matters, especially as the country approaches the November midterm elections.</p>